My name is Ryan, I’m 30, and I have a friend in Boston who is, for lack of a better word, deeply loyal to Dunkin’.
Not just in a casual “I grab coffee there sometimes” way.
I’m talking daily visits.
Rewards points.
A level of brand commitment that feels almost… personal.
For years, whenever I visited Boston, we would start the day the same way.
“Let’s hit Dunkin’.”
Coffee. Breakfast sandwich. Maybe a donut.
It was tradition.
And honestly, I never questioned it.
Until recently.
Over the past few months, I’ve been trying to cut back on fast food and sugary drinks. Nothing extreme, just making slightly better choices.
So when I visited him a couple weeks ago, the usual morning question came up.
“Dunkin’?”
And without thinking too much about it, I said:
“Honestly… I think I’m kind of over Dunkin’.”
The reaction was immediate.
He looked at me like I had just insulted his entire upbringing.
“Over Dunkin’?” he repeated.
I laughed and tried to soften it.
“I mean, it’s fine, I just don’t really want it every day.”
That didn’t help.
For the rest of the morning, he was noticeably quieter.
We ended up going somewhere else for coffee, but the vibe had definitely shifted.
At one point he said, “You used to love Dunkin’.”
Like I had personally betrayed a shared history.
I didn’t think much of it after that.
We hung out, did normal stuff, and I went back home the next day.
But since then…
Silence.
No texts.
No memes.
No random messages like we usually send each other.
It’s now been 11 days.
At first I assumed he was just busy.
But I can see he’s active online, posting stories… including one where he’s holding a Dunkin’ cup with the caption:
“Some people never change.”
I’m pretty sure that was directed at me.
Now I’m sitting here wondering if I accidentally crossed some kind of cultural line.
Because apparently in Boston, Dunkin’ isn’t just coffee.
It’s loyalty.
It’s identity.
It’s a shared experience.
And saying you’re “over it” might sound less like a preference…
And more like a personal rejection.
At this point I’m debating whether I should text him and clear things up…
Or just show up next time with a Dunkin’ cup in hand like nothing ever happened.
Because if this friendship is hanging by a thread over coffee…
I might need to reconsider my stance.
At least temporarily.
